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| Roxie McLeish-Hutchinson & Dr Hugh Sealy |
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 15, 2011 - Grenada today (July 15, 2001)
becomes a full member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Grenada’s full membership takes
effect on Friday following the mandatory 30-day waiting period after depositing
its instrument of ratification on June 15.
In anticipation of full
membership Grenada was elected a member of the Policy and Strategic Committee
during IRENA’s governing Council inaugural meeting which concluded on Monday in
Abu Dhabi.
Grenada was represented at the
meeting by Dr. Hugh Sealy, Energy Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Planning,
Economy, Energy and Cooperatives and Mrs. Roxie McLeish-Hutchinson, Foreign
Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Foreign trade
and Export Development.
Grenada, as a member of the
committee, is now at the centre of decision-making process and can make input
into policy and strategy which governs the Agency.
IRENA was formally established as an intergovernmental organisation
by 148 member states and the European Union at the first session of the
Assembly in April 2011.
The Council is one of the two governing bodies of IRENA,
reporting to the Assembly, and convenes twice per year. The membership
consists of 21 countries for a term of two years. The Council was opened
by the President of the First Assembly, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, Special envoy for
energy and climate change for the United Arab Emirates.
Australia was elected as the Chair of the Council, and the
Republic of Korea the Vice-Chair, for 2011. Additionally, 32 observer
states participated in the meeting.
The Director-General, Adnan Amin, provided members with an
overview of activities implemented since the Assembly, including operational
and programmatic progress. IRENA has initiated a number of projects related to
Innovation and Technology, Knowledge Management, Capacity Building and Policy
Advice, involving collaboration with actors across the renewable energy sector.
During a round table discussion on the Work Programme of the
Agency, members expressed their desire to further position the Agency at the
centre of renewable energy worldwide through strategic partnerships and further
staff recruitment, and to engage in fruitful exchanges of views with private sector
and academia.
The Council additionally endorsed and approved the
membership and terms of reference of three Committees: Policy and Strategy,
Finance, and Governance and Legal.
These committees will support the Council and the
secretariat through intensive support and review of matters assigned to them.
Each Committee has a membership of eight countries, not including a Chair and
Vice-Chair, but is open to full participation by observers.
Antigua & Barbuda chairs the Finance Committee, Tonga
the Governance and Legal Committee and the UK the Policy and Strategy
Committee.
The Council also approved the selection procedures for a
US$350 million partnership between IRENA and the Abu Dhabi Fund for
Development, the Abu Dhabi’s government leading development agency. The
fund will launch at the second Assembly January 14-15, 2012, and IRENA will
immediately call to receive applications for funding.
The fund was established in 2009 to disburse concessional
loans for renewable energy generation and transmission projects located in
developing countries that are signatories of the Agency. As part of the
operationalisation of the fund, the Agency will begin later this year a call
for experts, who will lead technical review of the applications.
The initial focus of IRENA seems
to be towards Africa and the Pacific regions. In this regard, Grenada’s
presence along with council member Antigua served as a reminder to the council
that the Caribbean should not be forsaken as the region share similar concerns
and limitations as the abovementioned regions.
Grenada’s representatives at the
meeting also held bilateral discussions with the Swedish and United Arab
Emirates delegations and the IRENA secretariat.
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